As the EU’s post-corona budget is set to benefit those worst affected by the pandemic, Eastern and Central Europe shouldn’t lose out only because they handled the crisis well, writes Craig Turp-Balazs for Emerging Europe. One of the first articles I wrote after joining Emerging Europe back in 2017 was a piece advocating for the region to no longer be viewed as merely a low-cost production centre for western European…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said Washington pledged “up to USD 1 billion” to boost energy projects in Eastern Europe as part of efforts to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas, informed LETA/AFP. “The United States — through our International Development Finance Corporation, and with the support of the US Congress — intends to provide up to USD 1 bn in financing to the Central and Eastern…

The EU plans to require truck drivers to reutnr to their home country every eight weeks, instead of the stricter rules proposed earlier, sources in Brussels told BNS. The provision is included into a preliminary agreement reached on Thursday morning between the European Parliament and Finland, which represents the member states. Lithuanian and other Central and European countries accuse western European countries of protectionism and say they want stricter rules…

In these latter days the issue of the risk of nuclear escalation in a non-nuclear conflict and war by mistake is acutely on the agenda. Obviously, strategic stability is in deep crisis. According to the report, which is based on the results of a situational analysis directed by Sergei A. Karaganov and held at the Russian Foreign Ministry, “it would be a mistake to think that the new military-strategic landscape…

A special resolution was adopted in PACE on 26 of June. According to this document full powers were returned to the Russian delegation. The participants in the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) approved a resolution that confirms the authority of the Russian delegation in full. Russia remains in PACE without any restrictions. A robust, responsible, pro-European position has prevailed, however not in all…

The drought observed in recent months has caused losses for Lithuanian farmers. According to Agriculture Minister Giedrius Surplys, the price of bread and other bakery goods could increase because of it, as reported by Lithuanian public media LRT. Kęstutis Nesavas, owner of a bakery in Šiauliai, says that although the increase from five to ten cents for baking flour may not seem like much, his company purchases flour in tonnes…

Poland — Soon after a United States Army convoy crossed Poland’s border into Lithuania during a major military exercise this month, two very strange things happened. First, four Army Stryker armored combat vehicles collided, sending 15 soldiers to the hospital with minor injuries. No one died. But hours later, an anti-American blog claimed a Lithuanian child was killed in the crash and posted a photo of a grisly accident. It…

Operation Atlantic Resolve aims to boost NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States after the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, with Western countries using alleged Russian interference in Ukraine’s affairs as a pretext. The US Army Europe has started deploying its heavy military vehicles to strategic locations in Eastern Europe and the Baltics as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, according to the Defense News website.…

The U.S. Army wants to keep able to respond at once to potential global threats. For the soldiers of the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (the “Big Red One”), that kind of decisive action was recently put to the test during a rapid response readiness exercise in eastern Europe.